kingnebwsu
10-14-2005, 06:18 AM
Poker threads pop up pretty often around here, and I wanted to throw one out there. Just took part in my biggest heads-up battle yet, and it was a blast. I'm glad I came out on the right end of it, but it was a great learning experience either way.
Note: skip further down for hand analysis if you want :)
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Situation: $5+$.50 NL Sit&Go on PokerStars. 13,500 total in chips. Hope this is readable :)
Started heads-up down 10175-3325. Won 4 pots in a row and doubled up to 9350 with AJ v T3s. He called with a flush draw that missed. I gave it right back with 2nd pair and he had top pair. Down to 7100-6400 lead. Lost a 3600 pot with a straight but there were 4 clubs on the board. So he pushed on the river&I folded. Thought it was a decent fold, as any club would have beaten me. Down 8500-5000. Won 10800 with AA! He had TT and I doubled up. Had him down to 1900 then he won 4 pots in a row to take a 2-to-1 lead. Bluffed a big pot and took a small lead. Went up 9400-4100, then lost a big pot with my K9 vs his Q7. Flop was K77 and I put him all-in and he called. Couldn't believe he hit that...wow. He won a few more pots to take a 2-to-1 chip lead (again). Hit me again when my A2 didn't flop anything and I'm down to 3500. Classic race I won with TT v AJ to double up to 9500! He then took a slight chip lead before I won the pot of the match. I had 75s and flop was 876 with two clubs. I had an open-ended straight flush draw. I called his bet on the flop. He then pushed all-in after a blank fell on the turn. I thought about it for a bit and figured I had the best hand at the time...and for one of the first times ever, I read that situation correctly and called him. He had A5, an open-ended straight draw. My pair of 7's held up and I took a 13000-500 chip lead!!! He doubled up with 22 v my A8 when he flopped a set. He doubled up AGAIN with J2 vs my JT when he spiked a deuce on the
river (argh). I was fearing a huge comeback, as this had been an epic battle so far. He's up to 2000 to my 11,500. He stole the blinds once, then I got dealt QQ on the button. I raised 3x the BB and he pushed and I called! My QQ held up vs his A4 and I won!!!
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That was easily the most epic heads-up battle I've ever been a part of. It lasted nearly 30 minutes and had 9 lead changes, several races, and some monster flops. I made some huge laydowns (something I've been working hard to "master"), and I probably laid down 1 too many hands (hand analysis below). This makes two wins in a row for me, after I didn't cash for 13 STRAIGHT $5+$.50 Sit&Go's. Hopefully my slump is over after netting $34.00 in the last two!
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Here's the big hand. I raise on the button pre-flop 3x with K4 (400 more to 600 total). He re-raises 800 more to make it 1400 to go. I call. Flop is KQT, two hearts. He bets first and pushes all-in for 5175 into a 2850 pot. He appeared to be a pretty solid player, maybe a bit too aggressive at times, but I respected his pre-flop raise combined with an all-in on the flop to consider that I had been beaten. I figured he maybe had Kx or something along those lines. Definitely a better kicker than me. He also could have had a J,
giving him an open-ended straight draw. But I laid down top pair with a crap kicker. I was really proud of myself for this laydown, as I'm always so damn curious to see what my opponent has (fatal flaw). This was a decent-sized pot, as it went from a deadlock to him having a 8000-5500 lead. Did I make the right play? The more I think about it, the more I think I DID make the right play, but at the time it was REALLY really tough to lay it down. He may have had a lower pocket pair, but I bet he at least had an A or a K
Wish I could watch it on TV later to see what he had :)
******
Any thoughts on how I played that hand? I always appreciate the advice from my fellow FOFC'ers. Any of you guys have an epic heads-up battle like this one? How about big slumps you've broken out of? What I did was take a 3-week break from poker to help bust myself out of the slump. It seemed to work well, as I came back feeling refreshed and excited to be playing poker again. I was on a massive losing streak, and was almost down to even (after being up $80+ this round). Hopefully the streak is gone for good and I can continually consistently cash.
(end ramble)
Note: skip further down for hand analysis if you want :)
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Situation: $5+$.50 NL Sit&Go on PokerStars. 13,500 total in chips. Hope this is readable :)
Started heads-up down 10175-3325. Won 4 pots in a row and doubled up to 9350 with AJ v T3s. He called with a flush draw that missed. I gave it right back with 2nd pair and he had top pair. Down to 7100-6400 lead. Lost a 3600 pot with a straight but there were 4 clubs on the board. So he pushed on the river&I folded. Thought it was a decent fold, as any club would have beaten me. Down 8500-5000. Won 10800 with AA! He had TT and I doubled up. Had him down to 1900 then he won 4 pots in a row to take a 2-to-1 lead. Bluffed a big pot and took a small lead. Went up 9400-4100, then lost a big pot with my K9 vs his Q7. Flop was K77 and I put him all-in and he called. Couldn't believe he hit that...wow. He won a few more pots to take a 2-to-1 chip lead (again). Hit me again when my A2 didn't flop anything and I'm down to 3500. Classic race I won with TT v AJ to double up to 9500! He then took a slight chip lead before I won the pot of the match. I had 75s and flop was 876 with two clubs. I had an open-ended straight flush draw. I called his bet on the flop. He then pushed all-in after a blank fell on the turn. I thought about it for a bit and figured I had the best hand at the time...and for one of the first times ever, I read that situation correctly and called him. He had A5, an open-ended straight draw. My pair of 7's held up and I took a 13000-500 chip lead!!! He doubled up with 22 v my A8 when he flopped a set. He doubled up AGAIN with J2 vs my JT when he spiked a deuce on the
river (argh). I was fearing a huge comeback, as this had been an epic battle so far. He's up to 2000 to my 11,500. He stole the blinds once, then I got dealt QQ on the button. I raised 3x the BB and he pushed and I called! My QQ held up vs his A4 and I won!!!
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That was easily the most epic heads-up battle I've ever been a part of. It lasted nearly 30 minutes and had 9 lead changes, several races, and some monster flops. I made some huge laydowns (something I've been working hard to "master"), and I probably laid down 1 too many hands (hand analysis below). This makes two wins in a row for me, after I didn't cash for 13 STRAIGHT $5+$.50 Sit&Go's. Hopefully my slump is over after netting $34.00 in the last two!
******
Here's the big hand. I raise on the button pre-flop 3x with K4 (400 more to 600 total). He re-raises 800 more to make it 1400 to go. I call. Flop is KQT, two hearts. He bets first and pushes all-in for 5175 into a 2850 pot. He appeared to be a pretty solid player, maybe a bit too aggressive at times, but I respected his pre-flop raise combined with an all-in on the flop to consider that I had been beaten. I figured he maybe had Kx or something along those lines. Definitely a better kicker than me. He also could have had a J,
giving him an open-ended straight draw. But I laid down top pair with a crap kicker. I was really proud of myself for this laydown, as I'm always so damn curious to see what my opponent has (fatal flaw). This was a decent-sized pot, as it went from a deadlock to him having a 8000-5500 lead. Did I make the right play? The more I think about it, the more I think I DID make the right play, but at the time it was REALLY really tough to lay it down. He may have had a lower pocket pair, but I bet he at least had an A or a K
Wish I could watch it on TV later to see what he had :)
******
Any thoughts on how I played that hand? I always appreciate the advice from my fellow FOFC'ers. Any of you guys have an epic heads-up battle like this one? How about big slumps you've broken out of? What I did was take a 3-week break from poker to help bust myself out of the slump. It seemed to work well, as I came back feeling refreshed and excited to be playing poker again. I was on a massive losing streak, and was almost down to even (after being up $80+ this round). Hopefully the streak is gone for good and I can continually consistently cash.
(end ramble)